The Blossoming of Maximos Oliverios

A very overdue review of The Blossoming of Maximos Oliverios, which showed at the Cathay Picturehouse in 2007. This movie manages to be lighthearted despite carrying heavy themes of crime, homosexuality & one-sided love. You’re likely to fall in love with Nathan Lopez’s convincing performance as an openly gay 12-year old in a family of gangsters. I did. The Oliverios have no mother, so Maximos relishes his role as the lady of the house with much verve. Its all fine & dandy, until Maxi falls for someone on the right side of the law. This movie has alot of heart, & is worth watching just for Nathan Lopez. It is shot beautifully, despite the settings in a village slum.

Tempts me to explore other pinoy films. Salamat, I enjoyed this.

an Ode to Hong Kong Cinema

I never quite could get down to writing movie reviews, unfortunately. Afterall, for the many twos of life’s hours spent on a single movie (2000 movies = half a year of non-stop film!), writing a couple of lines to honour a cinematic effort should be easy, no? Perhaps this post should really be titled “I Have a Lazy Bone”. I avoid television dramas to justify movie time, but I’m too lazy to write a couple of lines.

But today I will tackle the memory leak, & recall my favourite HK movies. Because Hong Kong films are generally on Love, Wu Xia / Kung Fu, History or Slapstick, I assume films would be easier to qualify as compared to my love for English/Foreign film.

I’m wrong of course, so I’m leaving out all the guilty pleasures (no Hui Brothers, Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan & Leslie Cheung movies!)

I must confess, my days of serious Chinese film watching are long gone. They were most rampant in primary school, when Channel 8 would show up to 3 good films any given weekend. Was the Media Development Authority more lax back then? My tastebuds now opt for lesser Chinese films unfortunately, perhaps because interesting films also seem harder to come by.

Without further ado… My favourites of Hong Kong & Chinese cinema.

Uniquely Singapore

Overheard from a coffeeshop, the Singaporean way to order your cuppa…

Coffee with less sugar = Kopi Siu Dai

Coffee with even lesser sugar = Kopi Siu Siu Dai

Hot Chocolate/Milo = Tak Kiu (Football, in reference to the soccer lad on Milo tins)

Chinese Tea = Diao Yu (Fishing, as tea bags look similar to fishing rods)

Lemon Tea = Clementi (A pun on the name of a Western district in Singapore)

Most coffeeshop uncles & aunties(another unique trait of SE Asia, greeting all elders Uncle or Auntie) understand this, a coffeeshop code of sorts.

Tian Mi Mi

Almost a love story?

As rain poured relentlessly down from the heavens, my heart weighed down guiltier by the moment. My father was out, stuck presumably at his nearest shelter, unable to return home.

He did not bring an umbrella; he had overlooked the chance of an afternoon shower. My father refused my help, saying that he would wait till the rain had simmered down. I hung up relieved, yet guilty. But the shower soon became a thunderstorm & I had to find him. Afterall what are daughters for?

I grabbed my oldest pair of slippers, the ones with no discernible grooves left. I preferred to slip & fall than to wreck a better pair of shoes. The rain was awful. It did not matter that I carried an umbrella, I was drenched.

He was at the pau dian (Chinese bakery). A 5-minute walk became a 10 minute journey in the rain.

But he was not there. I was dismayed. I searched for him with patient anxiety, as parents search for their children in supermarkets. He wasn’t anywhere in the neighbourhood. I was dismayed.

He must be home.

And he was.

It was just like it was in Tian Mi Mi.

Somehow I wished I found him, I wished we had walked home together under the too-small umbrella, I wished we had enjoyed a rare father&daughter moment.

But it wasn’t to be. Under the roar of a late March downpour, I did not find him.

Pineapples

Chungking Express is my favourite Wong Kar Wai film. I like films when I can remember their plot amongst the flurry of many movies you see. Especially when a film changes how you see certain daily objects forever.

I took away two things from Chungking Express. One: I really wanted to see the Chungking Mansions for myself and two: Canned Pineapples. Alright, and also a slightly diminished love for California Dreamin’ after hearing it over & over.

Faye Wong looking blithe.

The Pineapple Lines

He Zhiwu, Cop 223: Any canned pineapple that expires on May 1?
Cashier: You know what day it is today?
He Zhiwu, Cop 223: April 30?
Cashier: Right. You think we sell outdated stock?
He Zhiwu, Cop 223: There’s still two hours to go.
Cashier: Nobody would buy it. Get a fresh one.
He Zhiwu, Cop 223: People like you are hung up on freshness. You realize what goes into a can of pineapple? The fruit must be grown, harvested, sliced, and you just throw it away! How do you think the can feels about that?

Happiness

Someone once told me that happiness is a state of mind. I laughed at his premise then. If happiness was a state of mind, then sadness, anger, excitement, fear & all emotive feelings would merely be states of mind. Did he mean that humans merely willed themselves into feeling a certain way that seemed plausible?

Then I met someone else, a forty-something who has led a fortunate life thus far, achieving her goals without obstacles. For someone most might imagine to be happy, she wasn’t. She was unhappy, but she confessed that she reminded herself to be glad for everything that she had, & that she had nothing to be unhappy about.

Perhaps happiness is merely a state of mind. Whenever we are unhappy there exists a little voice that tells us to revel in the happiness of all our other little victories. Regardless of our superficial sentiments of the everyday, our emotional core may just be simply, happy.

Happy to have been the X or Y chromosome that won the race.

Happy to have kissed and hugged.

Happy to have quenched our thirst.

Happy to have seen colours.

Happy to see happiness in smiles.

Happy to have felt rain.

Happy to have tasted chocolate.

Happy to have closed our eyes & slept,

& happy to wake to the morning sunshine.

Good Nightmares

Two episodes of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares I caught were guiltily good. Basically, chef Gordon Ramsay (whose name has graced everything from restaurants & tv shows to airline food) takes on a restaurant business thats failing & flailing & spins it into running like smooth butter.

The restaurants are sloppy, the food lame, the owners & chefs mostly rather indignant & pissed off. The Fish & Anchor episode where a hungry man was kicked out by the furious dragon-lady host was hilarious.

But Ramsay saves the day as Santa with a team of interior designing elves. He manages to improve not only the restaurant menu & facade, but apparently the lousy attitudes in 2 days flat. Almost a Dr. Phil who knows his amaretto from his amuse bouche. Ramsay has no problems hamming things up & joining the odd argument for your viewing pleasure. He unapologetically dishes out the truth while cussing, & you even pity the man for trying harder to save the business than its shareholders.

Kitchen Nightmares has all the right ingredients, & a good dose of reality for anyone ever wanting to start any business. You would think that fresh food served to the right table is a simple recipe, but they get it all wrong.

Yet, appearing on a such a Restaurant-Rescue tv show is just a huge blob of bad publicity for any serious restaurant, looking to peddle good food without the dramatics.

calm

On Sunday morning,

gingerly sifting through the newspapers,

to Astrud Gilberto.

Things You Learn

From watching Friends

1. Traffic policemen named Hanson & Petty love being flattered by obvious puns on their name.

2. Make sure your walls are thin. Or else life would be an absolute bore.

3. Do not count Mississippi-ly unless told to do so. Effectively, that means never.

4. Hiking in Europe will get you action every single time.

Things You Learn

From watching the Office.

1. Always, always type the right email address. Packing & Packer are not the same.

2. Be careful which Temp guy you choose to run your errands. You may have to call him Boss tomorrow.

3. Sausage-eating skills are essential in becoming Regional Manager. So is fire-walking. And carrying eggs in spoons while blindfolded.

4. If you hear strange noises at midnight on the Shrute family farm, do not investigate.

5. A beard, or the ability to sprout facial hair, gives you extra credibility at work.

Wonder if #5 applies to the fairer sex.